Destinations

Phnom Penh, in two days

Cambodia's capital is skipped by people who think it is only a stop between temples and the coast. Two days here change how the rest of the country reads, and one of them is hard.

Plan my trip Phnom Penh, 2 days

Why not to skip it

Population	About 2.3 million
Nights we recommend	2, and 3 if you like cities
Airport	Techo International (KTI), 20 km south, 45 to 60 minutes
From Siem Reap	45 minutes by air, 5.5 to 6.5 hours by road
Getting around	Ride-hailing apps and tuk-tuks; traffic is heavy 07:00 - 09:00 and 16:30 - 19:00

Angkor tells you what Cambodia was. Phnom Penh tells you what happened to it, and what it is now. Visitors who go straight from the temples to the coast leave with an impression of Cambodia as a country of ruins and beaches, which is a strange thing to take away from a place with a functioning, argumentative, fast-changing capital.

It is also, by a distance, where you eat best in Cambodia.

The hard part, handled properly

Tuol Sleng, the former school the Khmer Rouge used as security prison S-21, and Choeung Ek, the killing field 15 km outside the city, are the two sites almost every visitor goes to. They are not sightseeing and they should not be scheduled as if they were.

Do both on the same morning, in that order, and nothing else that day. The order matters: S-21 is the process, Choeung Ek is the outcome, and reversing them makes neither legible.
Take the audio guide at both. At Choeung Ek in particular it is one of the best pieces of interpretation at any memorial site anywhere, narrated in part by survivors.
Go early, from 08:00. It is cooler and quieter, and you will want the afternoon.
Do not photograph yourself at either site. Photograph the buildings if you photograph anything.
Think about who you are bringing. There is no official minimum age and we would not take a child under about fourteen.

Two survivors of S-21 have in past years sat at the entrance to Tuol Sleng with their books. If they are there when you visit, buying the book from the author is the single most direct thing you can do.

Give yourself the afternoon

Almost everyone underestimates this. Plan nothing after lunch on that day beyond a quiet lunch and a walk by the river. Guides who schedule the Royal Palace at 14:00 on the same day are doing you no favours.

The rest of the city, which is not heavy at all

The Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda: still a working royal residence, gold-roofed, and closed between 11:00 and 14:00. Shoulders and knees covered.
The National Museum: the best Khmer sculpture collection in the world, in a beautiful terracotta building with a courtyard. An hour and a half, and it makes Angkor legible if you go before you head north.
Central Market, the 1937 art deco dome, and Russian Market for fabric, silver and kitchenware. Neither is a tourist attraction and both are better for it.
Wat Phnom, the hill the city is named after, and the riverfront promenade at dusk when the whole city comes out to walk.
The confluence itself: the Mekong meets the Tonle Sap here, and twice a year the Tonle Sap reverses direction, which is the hydrological fact the whole country runs on. A sunset boat for an hour is cheap and worth it.

Sculpture courtyard at the National Museum

Where to stay and where to eat

BKK1 is the residential district where the good small hotels and most of the city's best food are, ten minutes from the palace and considerably calmer than the riverside. Daun Penh, around the old post office, is the most beautiful part of the city and thinner on hotels. The riverside puts you among the bars and the traffic.

Eat: kuy teav, the pork and rice noodle breakfast soup, from a street cart before nine; num pang pate, the Cambodian sandwich, which is a Vietnamese banh mi with a Khmer accent; grilled river fish with green mango; and the increasingly serious modern Khmer restaurants that have opened in the last few years and are the most interesting food in the country right now.

Price bands by town are on the where to stay page.

Getting there and away

Techo International opened on 9 September 2025, replacing Pochentong, which no longer handles scheduled passenger flights. The new airport is about 20 km south of the centre, 45 to 60 minutes in normal traffic and longer in the evening peak.

By road, Ho Chi Minh City is six to seven hours through the Bavet border, and the Mekong boat from Chau Doc takes most of a day and is the nicest border crossing in the region. Kampot is three to three and a half hours south, Kratie four and a half hours north-east, and Sihanoukville about two hours on the expressway.

When to skip it

If you have four days or fewer in Cambodia. Adding Phnom Penh to a short trip costs you a travel day and gives you a rushed one.
If you are travelling with children under about fourteen and the Khmer Rouge sites are the reason you were coming. There is still a good two days here without them, but be deliberate about it.
If heat and traffic are what you find hardest about travel. Phnom Penh in April is the least forgiving place in this guide.

What we would not do is skip it because someone told you it is 'just a city'. It is the part of the trip people most often say changed their understanding.

Tours that include Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh, 2 days is the focused version. It also sits in the middle of Cambodia highlights, 7 days and north to coast, 10 days.

Common questions

Questions travellers ask most

How many days do I need in Phnom Penh?

Two nights. One morning for Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek with the afternoon left empty, and one day for the palace, the National Museum, the markets and the riverfront. A third night is easy to fill if you like cities.

Should I visit Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek?

Most people should, and it is a decision rather than an item on a list. Do both on one morning, in that order, with the audio guides, and leave the afternoon empty. We would not take a child under about fourteen.

Where is the new Phnom Penh airport?

Techo International, about 20 km south of the centre, opened on 9 September 2025. Allow 45 to 60 minutes each way, more in the evening peak. The old Pochentong airport no longer handles scheduled flights.

Is Phnom Penh safe?

For ordinary travel, yes, with the same caution you would use in any large city. Bag snatching from motorbikes is the one specific risk worth knowing about: carry your bag on the side away from the road and do not use a phone at the kerb.